In early March 2018, 11
nations[1]
signed a revised and less stringent version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) which was rebranded as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP) aimed at lowering tariffs, stimulating the spread of
foreign investment, technical know-how and innovation leading to further job
creation and business opportunities, and deregulating and standardizing trade
practices among the signatories. The 11 countries which currently make up the
CPTPP contribute approximately 11% and 15% of the global economy and global
trade respectively[2]. While
the potential impact on global trade would undoubtedly be much higher had the
After the withdraw of the US
from the original TPP negotiations, Japan sought to lead the way in pushing a
new agreement forward in order to expand trade and investment among participating
nations.
Japan saw that by asserting
itself in terms of establishing a less rigid regional free trade agreement from
the ashes of the TPP, a free trade agreement could be reached among a plurality
of nations which could later be used in future free trade negotiations such as
the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and used as a
negotiation tool in the case that other nations wished to join at a later date.
RCEP is a free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the 10 ASEAN
members and six other countries (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea
and New Zealand which constitute the ASEAN Plus Six grouping) having existing
free trade agreements with ASEAN countries. Negotiations began in November 2012
and currently there are numerous roadblocks hindering the development of
consensus among the participating nations. While the RCEP is mainly focused on
the reduction of tariffs among the 16 nations involved in the negotiations,
there are numerous aspects relating to the protection of IPR and combating the
proliferation of counterfeits. To this regard, the TPP-11 serves as a
foundation which will hopefully lead to the eventual ratification of the RCEP.
In regard to how the TPP-11
free trade agreement will impact
Numerous sectors, such as
telecommunications, digital trade and financial fields will see deregulation in
order to attract more international investment. This deregulation will occur in
all CPTPP member states and will also allow
The powerful agricultural lobby
in
CPTPP
IP Highlights
While the new
free trade agreement does not provide the depth and range of IP protection and
enforcement originally sought by the more technologically advanced nations involved
in TPP negotiations, some provisions were brought over to the CPTPP.
The CPTPP eliminated
provisions present in the original TPP regarding patent term extension to
compensate for delays in the examination and approval of applications and
provisions regarding copyright and IP rights enforcement which had become
contentious points for the less-developed member states. Rules governing data
protection for biologic drugs and other pharmaceuticals were also removed from
the CPTPP[8].
In lieu of the US dropping out from the original TPP negotiations, Japan and
Korea both agreed with some reluctance to shelve requests for stronger IP
regulations, especially with regards to the extension of copyright protection,
in order that many countries who would become signatories thereto would not
have to undergo lengthy amendments to their existing IP laws in order to comply
with those established by the CPTPP.
The CPTPP
provides that after the public disclosure of an invention, an inventor is
permitted a one year ggrace periodh in which to file a patent application. This
is seen as being largely beneficial to SMEs and universities. Note that,
countries which are not signatories to the CPTPP may have different grace
periods or conditions under which a grace period may be requested.
Provisions
regarding patent linkage in terms of obtaining marketing approval for a new
drug (often a generic form of an innovator drug) based on bioequivalence also
are provided in the CPTPP. According to the provisions, a patentee of an
innovator drug will be notified when another applicant seeks to use the
clinical trial data of the innovator drug to show bioequivalence.
Future
expansion of CPTPP-11
[1]Australia, Brunei
Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,
Singapore and Vietnam
[2]https://www.forbes.com/sites/paullaudicina/2018/02/06/will-japans-open-for-business-strategy-work/#2f7410983552
(Will
[3]As of November 2018, 6 nations (
[4]https://www.forbes.com/sites/paullaudicina/2018/02/06/will-japans-open-for-business-strategy-work/#2f7410983552
(Will
[5]http://trademinister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2018/sc_mr_180308.aspx
(A new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement)
[6]Subsequent tariff reductions will come into force on January 1st,
except for
[7]https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/s15_0012.html (How will
the TPP Change the Japanese Economy?)
[8]http://international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cptpp-ptpgp/sectors-secteurs/ip-pi.aspx?lang=eng
(What does the CPTPP mean for intellectual property?)